Happy Halloween!!!!

Erin, Elizabeth and Savanah.

The Crying Angel

crying angel, originally uploaded by theogeo.

When I was 6 year old we lived in Millington, Tennessee and then for a little while the Chickasaw Bluffs out in the middle of nowhere. I had a pony named Smokey, a huge tree house and our back yard was the Mississippi River. We had a decent garden in back yard. I remember pulling radishes and running thought the corn. I was sick a lot then but mostly I remember my pony and hikes in the woods.

I do have a vivid memory of a trip we made to a cemetery. I recall it was a warm day but cooled off quickly as the afternoon wore on. My mother, always the explorer, was searching for a local legend. It seemed to me as if we searched all afternoon for the right spot finally finding the hidden cemetery in the late afternoon. It seemed even longer before we found the legend she was looking for. As the shadows deepened and the sun disappeared amongst the heavily foliaged oaks, she finally found the marble statue of 'The Crying Angel'. I vaguely remember the sculpture but I do remember how scared I was. The cemetery was neglected and teen hang out at the time. For some reason I was afraid they would show up like the biker gangs did in all the drive in movies we went too with no Mad Max to save us. The legend told by locals in the area was the the angel would weep but I don't recall any tears but I do remember the statue in disrepair, moldy and dirty. I was a little awed and would not surprised if I had goosebumps at the time although I truly don't remember. It is funny that I should think about that trip that we took almost thirty years ago and I thought I would see if I could find it.

After googleing for several hours and searching through GenWeb, I was disappointed to discover it no longer existed. The Angel after years of neglect and battery was finally removed no longer marking the grave of the young civil war hero who died so long ago. No more fluttering of angel's wings or crying in the night. I went even further trying to find the old cemetery but even goolge maps was no help tonight. I fear the old cemetery has been replaced by a pet cemetery or just over grown and out of sight.

Happy Halloween Anyways!!!!!!!

Noel Noel.........

Makes me want to start singing Christmas Carols.........Just heard on the scanner school will run as usual tomorrow they will decide on Thursday about this same time. It is looking like there will be no Halloween this year. We will not to be activated unless Noel decides to play bad at the last minute but we are basically gearing up for more rain like we need more. My back yard is a lush green mosquito infested jungle but the evenings are wonderful when its not too wet and you have enough Off.
I love Florida and the rain is replenishing the low water table but I am tired of the rain everyday eventually it has to stop.

Merlot & Earl Gray

Merlot & Earl Gray, originally uploaded by kathleenpate.

I was playing with photo shop... I like.....

IMidlife Crisis?

IMidlife Crisis?, originally uploaded by kathleenpate.

Merlot and Earl Grey tea is what my husband asked for we I went to the store this afternoon. I giggled because this is my husband the grunting, farting man I have lived with for over 20 years. All I am thinking is midlife crisis or what.

Grits and Sin?????

I was looking for grit and sausage resipes and came across this article. I about peed my pants. I am still not sure if this is a spoof or a real story but it was interesting reading.

Ms.Riley speaks

I did not get to watch Inside Edition today but I found a brief article on their website about a scared shy little girl????

I feel Yucky!!

SeptBeach KPate2006 113a, originally uploaded by kathleenpate.

I hate feeling sick but I should not be surprised my body finally succumbed to a buggy. To much work, stress and lack of rest will do it to me every time. A day or two of down time should do me I hope. I need to download some more pictures.......

Local Streaming Police Scanner

SeptBeach KPate2006 078a, originally uploaded by kathleenpate.

Not only am I playing with my new Flickr account but also found this web site through a friend. I have no idea how long this has been up but I thinks its a great site. I also realize that we (911) needs to be a little more diligent in the way we (dispatchers) give out information and what information we give out over the radio. This is also a great site for anyone who wants to become a dispatcher. If you can type everything you hear, keep up and hold a conversation with another person (phone counts); you just might have what it takes to be a dispatcher.

Google "DANIEL GILROY FORT PIERCE"

And you wont find anything new today. It looks like "that" train has left the station. I'm not saying there wont be more fallout in the future because every media slut with an opinion has been in contact with local law enforcement and the 15 yoa's family. I heard Dr. Phil was even looking for some action. "Dog the Bounty Hunter" the convicted felony had a few choice words himself. I added the article from our Hometown News. This next week I am sure "shocking" details of the incident will be played over and over again but from what I have read the "majority" feel the officer was justified.

I am upset that so many people who know nothing about our town feel the need to label this a race issue. Race has nothing to do with this. Our last police chief was black and he did less for this community than the current chief has done in the few months he has held the position. He works with city leaders and is dedicated to saving our youth and keeping gangs off our streets. Our city is safer now than what it was just mere months ago. This is due to Chief Baldwin's commitment to his community. Anyone who states otherwise obviously does not know him. Officer Gilroy, who can be a headache at times for dispatcher's, was not out prowling for little black girls to harass. Her grandmother threw her out of the house because she was "being hard headed". A citizen called in a report of a suspicious person. He was doing his job and not only trying to protect himself but also tried to protect the 15 yoa from getting hurt. Ms. Riley was the one who controlled the events that happened not the officer.

I am sick of hearing about how a mere wisp of a girl can cause such a problem for such a big guy. It happens. At 7 years old at a mere 65 pounds if not less I fought off six nurse who were trying to give me a shot after surgery and vomiting from the effects of anesthesia. I held my own for a good minute or two. When I met my husband I was not too much more that 130 pounds but I could wrestle with him, get away from him and take him down if I needed to. You could not keep me down for long. I too bit, kicked and squirmed to get away. He might have been 6'5 and over 200 lbs but if I did not want to be confined there was no way he was going to win or keep me down. So don't try to tell me this "baby" was to small to be treated with excessive force. I know better.

I don't want to hear from the Al Sharpton's of the world who obviously don't have a clue. What I really want to hear is why this girl was out so late. Why did her grandmother kick her out? Why did the child, who obviously thinks she is grown, act this way? Who taught her respect for the law? Who taught her anything of value while we are on the issue? A black male posted that white people don't understand because we live in our "Leave it to Beaver" world. All I really got out of this was if obeying the law and trying to build a safe and secure home for my children is the "Leave it to Beaver" world then I guess I am guilty. But, crossing all boundaries of race and color is'nt that what we all want. Is'nt that the ultimate goal for most to be safe and secure in our own little castle and provide the best for our families? A part of feeling safe in our home is to also feel safe in our communities. Children running around in the streets is not acceptable and the city of Fort Pierce is enforcing the curfew that has been in effect for several years now. It is a law enforcement tool that works and needs to keep working.

Al Sharpton representative accuses Fort Pierce officer of excessive force on teen

Basically they want to drop the charges on the 15 yoa and charge Ofc. Gilroy with assault. Go figure...........I am praying that the police department, the city and the states attorney continue to do the job my taxes pay for and not be pressured by what a few loud mouth ill informed opinions. The curfew works and the PD needs to keep enforcing it. It is saving the lives of our youths even if they don't like it

Al Sharpton representative, local activists to speak out in case of Fort Pierce teen's dramatic arrest

And the circus begins.....................

Deadly statistics in Fort Pierce

Here is an article I found that gives an idea of how serious the police department is on deterring crime and our lowering the murder rate. Right now we have had on 2 murders in the city limits. Last year there were 4 and the year before 10. Our community along with the local law enforcement agencies are doing everything possible to make Fort Pierce a better community. It is working.

Chief Baldwin's Media statement and official police report of incident

You will need adobe acrobat to view statement and police report.

Fort Pierce Police conduct internal investigation into officer's taped arrest of 15-year-old

Here's the next article in this ongoing story..........

Officer Gilroy of Ft Pierce Police Department and the abuse charges.

In the early morning hours of October 6th, my coworkers and I viewed the video of Officer Gilroy detaining then arresting a 15 year old juvenile. There was an instant debate over what we saw. On the first viewing of the video, I have to admit it was not hard to react shocked by the images. Being at work, the volume was turned down and we are all distracted by phones or radios so we watched it again and again. The debate grew. You either agreed or disagreed; there is no middle ground on this one. The majority thinking by hard core LEO Dispatchers in St Lucie County were in agreement with Officer Gilroy's actions but there was still one or two dispatchers that refused to see reason. And that's fine, we are all entitled to our opinions and OMG this past weekend I have heard a few.

This was my first weekend back on midnight rotation and the crazies seemed to have crawled out of the wood work; their rants fueled by vicious cop videos and worthless law enforcement tirades all over the media. We received calls from many media outlets. A few callers offered to critic the situation. One man called repeatedly until he finally became tired of being hung up on. It was that or he finally passed out from whatever he was drinking.

If I heard it once I heard it over and over again about cop brutality, corruption and unfairness of the world in general. I have to agree there is much truth to what we see but in the Gilroy case there is nothing in the video that implicates him if anything it exonerates him. That's why he turned on his camera. He saw the situation spiraling out of his control; he was by himself with an aggressive juvenile. He made sure there was no doubt of what occurred. He did his job and did it well. I have heard statements made by other officers who would not have been so patient or tolerant of the juveniles behavior. The child is very lucky that she was not hurt.

She is also very lucky she is not my child because I would have hurt her when I got her home. It is not against the law in the state of Florida to spank your children and 15 is not to old to get a paddling. We adhere to that philosophy in our home and it works very well. Officer Gilroy did nothing compared to what I would have done to her when I got her behind closed doors. I hope this young lady and the youths of Fort Pierce have learned a lesson. The city of Ft Pierce is not going to tolerate juveniles and gang members running amok in the streets any more. This past summer was one of the most pleasant our small town has experienced in decades. Crime is down and a large part of it is the crack down on juveniles and enforcement of our curfew.

All I can say is keep up the good work and could you guys keep an eye on the juveniles off 17th and Ponce Del Leon. They are starting to get annoying.